This Week in Space covers the latest developments in space exploration, astronomy, and the commercial space industry. Hosted by Rod Pyle, editor-in-chief of Ad Astra magazine, and Tariq Malik, managing editor of Space.com, the show discusses everything from rocket launches to cosmic discoveries. New episodes are released every Friday.
Episodes
TWiS 235: Robots in Dark and Scary Places - With Jim Green, Former NASA Chief Scientist
Robots have, and always will, be the first to go to the dark and scary places in space. For many years, Dr. Jim Green oversaw these missions for NASA as their Chief Scientist. He joins us to talk about the past, present, and future of planetary exploration. Jim has always been passionate about NASA's science programs and believes we're quite likely to find life off-Earth in the near future. Join
TWiS 234: Living in Lunar Caves - Could We Live Inside the Moon?
In our ongoing quest to develop a moon base, could we possibly utilize the area beneath the surface of the moon in order to make the moon habitable? In this episode of This Week in Space, Tariq Malik and guest host Mike Wall of Space.com talk with Than Putzig of the Planetary Science Institute about a NASA-backed payload bound for the Marius Hills Pit, a roughly 50-meter-wide opening that may lea
TWiS 233: The Artemis Generation - The STEM Pipeline for Space
Newspace is hiring! With the major powers heading to the moon, low-Earth orbit becoming busier than ever, and countless new companies entering the space marketplace, the hiring pipeline is more critical than ever. We spoke with Dr. Amanda Smith-Hackler, the Director of Education for the Universities Space Research Association and Principal Investigator for the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)
TWiS 232: The Lunar Dump - Over 800 GB of Moon Data
In this week's episode we turned to Chelsea Gohd, former writer for NASA/JPL and now with Space.com, to talk about the recent large data dump from the Artemis II mission. What was included? Why is this new data important? What observations were made, and what discoveries might result from them? What kind of annotations and notes did the astronauts include that make these observations uniquely val
TWiS 231: Sailing the Stellar Seas - Our Favorite Space Sci-Fi!
From the earliest works of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells to the best of contemporary space science fiction, Tariq and I dive deep into our favorite space si-fi across the ages! And our challenge to you for some of the most obscure titles we know.
Headlines:
Remembering Apollo Era Legends Margaret Hamilton and Milt Windler
Soviet Meteor 27 Satellite Breaks Up, Raising Space Debris Concerns
Elo
TWiS 230: Living on Lava Worlds - Atmospheres on Lava-Covered Exoplanets
Think you're having a hot summer? Try living on 55 Cancri-e, a super-Earth with daytime temperatures above 4000 degrees Fahrenheit. Most of these super-Earths orbit frighteningly close to their host stars and have long since had their atmospheres scraped away, leaving them baked, parched rocks. But some, like 55 Cancri, still have dense envelopes of air. How is that possible, when the planet is 2
TWiS 229: Is It Starship's Time? - Test Flight 14 to Orbit
This week it's Rod and Tariq working through the most important space headlines. The big story: Starship could launch test flight 14 as early as Monday the 28th. We've seen lots of tests, but this is the first attempt at an orbital flight, the success of which is necessary for the lunar landing system and eventual retirement of the Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon. Also: Vast starts up a lunar division,
TWiS 228: What's a HOTOL? - Britain in Space
In the 1980s, as the US space shuttle was just starting operations, the UK embarked on an ambitious project called HOTOL—short for Horizontal Take Off and Landing, a radical, air-breathing spaceplane design. Political and funding shifts in the UK ultimately derailed the project, despite the promising technologies it pioneered. The idea was later restarted as Skylon, with key individuals and refin
TWiS 227: TrekMania - Michael Okuda Talks LCARS, Easter Eggs, and Sci-Fi Innovation
Hold onto your phasers, but it's been 60 years since Star Trek's debut, and the franchise is still going strong. For 40 of those years, Mike Okuda, working with a gifted team that included his wife Denise, has been central to the look, feel, and substance of the Star Trek universe. From the LCARS computer graphical system to alien languages to the designs and color schemes, and even the digital e
TWiS 226: Who Owns the Moon? - Capitalism and Property Rights in Space
Capitalism—and a strong profit motivation—has driven enterprise for centuries. Two notable examples are the East India Company and the US transcontinental railroad, and the various tycoons who built it. In neither case, by today's standards, were the operations fair or ethical on a number of fronts. Can we do better in space? Dr. Rainer Zitelmann joins us to discuss capitalism and the importance
TWiS 225: Get a Grip! - New Technologies for Orbital Salvage
The mitigation of orbital debris is an increasingly serious problem that has not gotten enough attention, but this is changing. Commercial companies are addressing orbital debris, and one of them, KMI Space, has flown its experiments aboard the International Space Station, performing over 170 individual rendezvous-and-grab operations. The results are very promising, and the company is moving ahea
TWiS 224: The Science of Artemis - What We'll Do on the Moon
It has been said that the Moon is a harsh mistress, and nowhere is this more apparent than at the lunar south pole. That is, however, where the Artemis program is headed, and we need to figure out how to best explore the region. Dr. David Kring of the Universities Space Research Association's Lunar and Planetary Institute joins us to explore the where, whys, and hows of the Artemis Program's luna
TWiS 223: The Lunar Domain - Our Future on the Moon with Dr. Scott Pace
We're headed for a space renaissance, and it will be focused on the Moon. The US, China, and international partners of both are vying to land people there and construct a permanent lunar base. Meanwhile, NASA is evolving to embrace commercial enterprise unlike any time in its past, and American lunar efforts are lagging. What are the stakes? Does it matter who returns humans there first? What doe
TWiS 222: How to Invade Earth in 22 Easy Steps - With Rich Edwards
We've all seen the movies... the aliens come to Earth, the aliens overcome the inferior humans, and the aliens fall prey to something dumb they overlooked, like microbes, Windows 95, or most absurdly, water. From the 1950s through yesterday, some of the best movies we've seen were about the invasion of our planet. They can be clever, scary, or even downright dumb, but they are all fun. Veteran sp
TWiS 221: Starship Can Float? - Roman Space Telescope Ready to Launch!
Rod Pyle is out this week, so Rick Jenet of the National Space Society joins Tariq Malik this week to talk about SpaceX's Starship Flight 13, which deployed new Starlink V3 satellites and stunned viewers when the ship survived reentry intact enough to float in the ocean for days afterward. They also discuss NASA's Roman Space Telescope, now just a month from launch, and an in-progress emergency e
TWiS 220: First on Mars - The 50th Anniversary of Viking 1
This week, we cover how Starship Flight 13 finally prepares to launch amid a legal battle over SpaceX's proposed land swap at Starbase, plus a Chinese Long March 3B rocket gets struck by lightning during liftoff, yet still delivers its satellite safely. Then, guests Dr. Pascal Lee and astrobiologist Dr. Penny Boston join the show to mark the 50th anniversary of Viking 1's landing on Mars and revi
TWiS 219: SpaceX Goes to War! - And Other Space Headlines
This week we're jumping into the space headlines for the past few weeks. It's been busy, and some exciting things are happening! A couple of companies are moving into the space solar power arena--something we've long advocated--and that's welcome progress. Starship is set to fly Starship test number 13, and a lot is riding on this--the system is overdue for some proof of concept to keep up with N
TWiS 218: Which Way to the Moonbase? - With Dr. Pascal Lee
We've been hearing a lot about NASA's new moonbase plans, and they are ambitious. Starting with Artemis V (so far), the US plans to begin preparations for a permanent base situated in the south polar regions of the moon. Details are somewhat fluid, but one thing stands out: the poles are likely to be the most challenging places to set up shop in an already hostile environment. Planetary scientist
TWiS 217: America in Space - 250 Years of Bold Firsts & Our Favorite Missions!
Since 1958, the United States has been part of the spaceflight adventure, and since the mid-1960s has led in just about any category that counts. In this episode, we discuss the progression of American space efforts, review which flights launched or landed on July 4, and relive some of our very favorite US space missions of all time!
"Headlines:
• NASA's Swift Boost Mission Aims to Rescue Swift
TWiS 216: Dark Matter Intelligence - With Physicist Dr. Daniel Whiteson
We've had endless conversations about aliens and first contact--but what if a conversation with other intelligences is beyond our scope? Dr. Daniel Whiteson, particle physicist at CERN's Large Hadron Collider and professor at UC Irvine, joins us to explore less conventional thoughts on first contact. We look at the challenges of communicating with extraterrestrial intelligences, potential difficu
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